No matter how pristine a neighborhood is, you shouldn't assume that it's free of crime. Whether you're searching through real estate listings to find a new home, or have lived in the same neighborhood for over a decade, you're probably wondering: Is this neighborhood safe?

There's an easy way to find out.

A site called SpotCrime collects public data from police agencies and plots it on a map, giving you access to timely information about reported crimes in an area.

With SpotCrime, you can find safety information for an entire city or town anywhere in the country, and many other countries worldwide. You can also narrow it down to see reported crimes in a particular neighborhood or ZIP code, even on the street you live on.

The information on SpotCrime is updated daily, not just a summary of past crime activity from years prior. This gives you an accurate snapshot of the types of crime taking place in an area, including arrests, arson, assault, burglary, robbery, shootings, theft, vandalism and more.

Each type of crime is identified on the map with a little icon. Details of each crime are also listed out below the map so you can see the date and time the crime occurred, as well as the exact location.

SpotCrime is a tool that will keep you informed of the overall safety of the neighborhood you live in. Try it out and you'll be surprised by what you find. Even the "safest" neighborhoods aren't free of crime. This is why we're constantly telling you how important it is that you protect your home with a 24/7 monitoring service.